


Pressed for Press

by skullmoss



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: F/M, WIP - never finished
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:41:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26067412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skullmoss/pseuds/skullmoss
Summary: a WIP never to be finished, of nick valentine & piper wright.
Relationships: Nick Valentine/Piper Wright
Kudos: 1





	Pressed for Press

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this for a friend a very long time ago in 2015 and found it sitting in my drafts today. it'll never be finished, but i liked what i had going and hope it does something for someone out there.

she's taken ownership of his desk for the day. he didn't even notice it happening it kind of just… _happened_. in the way that all things happen with dames like piper; one minute they're talking your ear off and the next they've made themselves right at home. and piper is the sort of woman who simply works that way, and it's why half the city seems to-

-well, hate is a strong word but there are definitely strong negative feelings about piper circulating in this place.

but nick doesn't want to use the word hate. he likes her and that's what matters, even if she does get on his case and grind his gears in the figurative sense though they do sometimes grind when he's under too much duress which a personality type like piper can cause. he's probably one of the few people in this city that likes her for who she is and what she stands for and what she does. though it's a good thing they don't spend much time in this city anymore anyhow. not with that sole survivor of Vault 111 working them overtime doing whatever it is heroines do in these sorts of stories.

and in this sort of story, he's the detective, and piper is the journalist. the likeliest of all likely pairs and they've crossed paths (and wires in his case) in the past many, many times before. enough times for ellie to start taking notice. enough for her to start giving him the eye and excusing herself for some other work that she doesn't have while piper sits and lounges at his desk worrying a pencil between her teeth while writing things down with a pen in hand. she's been writing articles about her travels with that very heroine of this story. he's read a few of the entries, been interviewed for some of them through her not entirely unpleasant needling and journalistic candor.

the people need to know what's been going on outside these green city walls. the good, the bad, the ugly, and it's the soul bearing truth that burns through her that has nick watching her work like a cat following the laser eye of an assaultron.

_it's dangerous territory nick. too dangerous._

the real nick knew this, the real nick has those memories playing over and over in his head, but there's something about that life between piper's white teeth that comes forth when she speaks that reminds him of… past things that had been a reality for someone he wasn't. words said by someone long dead. hard, strong words. soft skin…supple mouth…dark hair and bright eyes looking up…

"nick." piper suddenly says, and the synth bites down on his cigarette as her voice brings him to.

"what?" he says, sounding more annoyed than he actually is, the sharpness of his voice muffled between the press of his smoke.

"you're thinking too loud. i can't…it's hard to concentrate, you know. when you think." she taps the pen against her paper, the ink smearing slightly on the page. "you whirr."

"ah." it's not news to him, and he plucks his cigarette from his mouth, keeping it between his exposed fingers as he crosses his arms, 'good' hand tucked under his 'bad' arm, 'bad' elbow resting against it. "sorry piper; sometimes things need extra processing and you only stay so young as a synth."

she hums in acknowledgement, finishing what she was struggling to write before tucking her pen away among the others, swirling in his chair to face him. "what things?" she asks. she always asks. of course she would, and nick puts the cigarette between his lips once more and takes a drag with synthetic breath.

"just things. and places and people." he regrets answering her immediately, the spark in her eye says it all as she gets up from her chair, one finger twitching slightly for a pen. she reaches for her own cigarette instead.

"so what's the angle, nicky?" she asks, patting her jacket for a lighter as she worries her cigarette between her lips. nick groans a little, a grinding whirr at her beginning to press as the press, but he reaches for his own lighter easily, moving towards her and flipping it on. she leans forward towards the flame, bright eyes looking up at him coyly before leaning back, taking a longer drag, and exhaling smoke in his face since she knows it isn't a bother for someone who doesn't actually need to breathe. there are other reasons why ellie goes out when piper comes in and some of it is because of the rise in smoke. ("i can't breathe when you two are in here," she says, "it's stifling. in more ways than one.")

"the angle, _piper_ , is that i'm just thinking. it happens when you have centuries of time on your hands." he smirks, "you wouldn't know it, kid." piper raises her eyebrows in challenge, fidgeting a little.

"i've thought centuries before. when you write you think longer than most people. so tell me what's on your mind." she pauses for another drag, and then exhales the smoke and his name out in a long breath. "nnnick."

the whirring starts again. "what i'm thinking isn't for the presses, piper."

"for a friend then. one on one, no paper no pens no nothing. just because i'm curious doesn't mean i'm always going to write it down for others to read. not when i actually like the person i'm probing, at least."

nick snorts at that, rolling his eyes. he leans back against the wall and puts his cigarette out in a nearby ashtray. piper's never been one for personal space and if he cared, she'd be broaching it right about now; lively as a spark and just itching to know what he doesn't even know. he thinks a lot during his downtime, keeps the machinery running to keep from going weak, and it runs automatically like a clock ticking away. he doesn't know what he's thinking outside of spending a lot of time around her, more than he used to. and after the stint with eddie winter and cleaning the blood off his trench coat and reviewing the logs in his head over and over again, he's been thinking a lot about his time more.

strange, when you've been living with a vendetta for so long that once it's gone so goes the past along with it. just holotapes and entries as phantoms in the computer.

"for a friend," he repeats, looking down at piper who's getting itchy at him taking his time to respond. "well, i'm not worried about the probing. been there, done that; my mind's been tampered with plenty of times before you tried getting your hands on it."

"i've heard; the hero of our story told me. said she was disappointed not to see you in a compromising position during that."

_of course she would be disappointed…_ he thinks idly.

\-------

he tucks his finger under her chin, the cool of metal against the soft warmth of her skin, and he tilts her head up to look up at him. she looks at him still grinning, eyes squinting and looking lively and he lets out a programmed breath before leaning down, one hand bracing against the edge of his desk, and he kisses her and thanks whoever made him for programming a sense of touch, as faded as it may be. piper's eyes flutter half-closed, and her throat rumbles with a light 'mm' as she presses forward, against him, mouth parting and tasting the cigarettes at his lips, against his tongue which feels strangely non-human, too smooth and too dry.


End file.
